Snowthrowers are known having upright chutes through which a snow stream is thrown. Such chutes are rotatable about a vertical axis to vary the direction of the snow stream being thrown through the chute. If the chute points forwardly, then the snow stream will be thrown forwardly in front of the snowthrower. However, if the chute is rotated to one side or the other, then the snow stream will be thrown laterally to the side to which the chute is directed. The chute can be placed in intermediate rotated positions where the snow stream is thrown both partially forwardly and partially to one side.
Various controls have been used to permit the operator to rotate the chute. Perhaps the simplest of these is a U-shaped hand grip secured to the back of the chute. The operator simply grips and manually pushes or pulls the hand grip to apply rotational leverage to the chute. This rotates the chute about the base of the chute where the chute rotatably connects to the housing of the snowthrower.
However, the chute and thus the hand grip are positioned forwardly of the handle assembly of the snowthrower. The operator normally walks behind the handle assembly of the snowthrower when operating the snowthrower. Thus, the act of adjusting the direction of the chute requires that the operator come around from behind the handle assembly of the snowthrower to reach the chute and to grip the hand grip.
This can be inconvenient and annoying to do particularly when the direction of the snow stream has to be frequently changed. For example, in blowing snow off a driveway, it is not unusual for the operator to make side-by-side passes up and down the driveway in opposite directions. If the only clear space for throwing the snow is on one side of the driveway, then the operator has to change the direction of the chute by 180° or so at the beginning of each pass.
Some chute controls comprise rotatable mechanical linkages that extend between the chute and the handle assembly of the snowthrower. These linkages terminate in a handle that the operator can use to rotate the linkage and thereby to rotate the chute. In this arrangement, the chute adjustment is somewhat more convenient for the operator since it can be done from behind the handle assembly. The operator need not walk around in order to reach the chute, but can adjust the chute simply by gripping the handle of the linkage and using the handle to rotate the linkage.
While such controls are within reach of the operator while the operator stands behind the handle assembly, they are mechanically more complicated and are still somewhat cumbersome to use. For example, the operator must usually crank or rotate the linkage quite a few times to swing the chute all the way from one side to the other. Again, if the chute has to be frequently swung all the way from one side to the other, as in the driveway example in set forth above, chute adjustment can still be a time consuming and annoying operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,032,333, which is owned by the assignee of this invention, discloses a chute control in which the rotatable crank type linkage is replaced with a pivotal joystick type control. The joystick is mounted on an escutcheon plate carried at the top of the handle assembly. The operator can grip the joystick and swing it laterally from one side to the other to rotate the chute in corresponding lateral directions. There is a mechanical advantage between the joystick and the chute such that the chute will rotate through its whole range of angular motion as the joystick pivots through its lateral range of motion. This eases the task of adjusting the chute since multiple turns of a rotatable crank type linkage are no longer required.
However, the joystick is still coupled to the chute through a forwardly extending mechanical linkage that passes between the handle assembly and the chute over the back of the snowthrower housing. Moreover, the joystick is positioned immediately in front of the operator. This along with the pivotal mounting needed for the joystick requires that the joystick be located on some type of escutcheon plate that is carried on the handle assembly. Accordingly, the joystick control described above and shown in the assignee's prior patent is still mechanically complex and is best suited for larger and more expensive snowthrowers.
There is a need in the snowthrower art for a simpler, less expensive and durable control for quickly and easily operating the chute on a snowthrower, particularly on smaller snowthrowers having a simple U-shaped handle assembly.